


stupid love

by roseweasley394



Series: Moments Like These [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Almost Kiss, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Romance, Slow Dancing, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24619543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseweasley394/pseuds/roseweasley394
Summary: “Are you ever going to tell Rose how you feel about her?”Scorpius choked on his pumpkin juice, sending it across his plate and all over the Potter’s kitchen table. “What?”Al shrugged, popping the rest of his toast into his mouth casually. “I’m just saying, Ted and Vic’s wedding is coming up and I think that would be an excellent time to make your move.”There's nothing like a wedding to make love a bit more stupid!
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy & Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Series: Moments Like These [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780003
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	stupid love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time posting on ao3, but you can find 30+ fics in this same universe on ff.net @roseweasele394 . I'm in the process of editing all of the works I have on there and transferring them here (so this is your fair warning that some of the earlier ones might be a little rougher around the edges lol). I hope you enjoy!!

* * *

It was a normal August morning in the Potter household. The summer was coming to a close, though the heat would indicate otherwise. It had been a nice few months; days spent swimming in the pond behind the burrow, having muggle film marathons on Rose’s mum’s old television, eating sticky strawberry popsicles at the Malfoy’s villa in Tuscany. The perfect summer for 3 best friends. But Al would have been a fool not to notice what was growing between his best mate and his cousin.

He really had tried to let them work it out themselves. He’d turned a blind eye to their blushing cheeks and fumbled words. He’d spent countless nights feigning sleep while they stayed awake talking into the morning, eventually falling asleep wrapped in each other's embrace only to never speak of it afterward. He’d even set aside his petty jealousy and kept his mouth shut as they spent much of the summer hanging out only with the other, leaving him feeling forgotten and cast aside. He had done it in the name of love, at least that’s what he told his mum. But love was getting a bit stupid as neither of them had actually confessed their feelings. And quite frankly, he was getting bloody sick of waiting around for it to happen; which is exactly why he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Are you ever going to tell Rose how you feel about her?”

Scorpius choked on his pumpkin juice, sending it across his plate and all over the Potter’s kitchen table. “What?”

Al shrugged, popping the rest of his toast into his mouth casually. “I’m just saying, Ted and Vic’s wedding is coming up and I think that would be an excellent time to make your move.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Scorpius replied quickly, unable to hide the flush creeping up his neck.

Albus laughed. “Come on mate, did you really think I didn’t know?”

Scorpius let out a strangled groan as he thrust his head in his hands. He knew there was no use lying to his best friend. “I was kind of hoping you didn’t.”

“Sorry mate, but I’m not blind. And you’re not exactly discreet either.”

Scorpius felt his heart drop and his head snapped up, completely forgetting to tease Al about the fact that his high prescription glasses proved that he very much was blind. “Does she know?”

“Of course not. Rose is an idiot, which is exactly why I’m bringing this up in the first place! Honestly, it’s getting ridiculous if you ask me.”

“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not asking you,” Scorpius snapped. “I appreciate that you’re trying to help, I really do. But we really don’t need to talk about this.”

“I promise that I’m not too keen on this conversation either. Trust me,” Al said with a grimace.

“Then why did you bring it up in the first place!”

“Well someone had to! It’s getting a bit stupid don’t you think?” He supplied, moving to grab the plate of sausages situated in the middle of the table

“Trust me, Al. If I could make it go away, I would. It’s absolutely miserable being in love with your best friend and-”

“Love?” Al interjected.

The two boys stared at one another as silence fell over the Potter’s breakfast room. Al’s hand was still reaching in mid-air for the sausage and Scorpius’s mouth was still open as if he were about to continue on with his sentence.

“Fuck,” Al breathed, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah,” Scorpius laughed humorlessly. “Fuck indeed.”

Al shook his head quickly. “Never mind what it is. I just think that you need to tell her already.”

“And why exactly would I do that? I can’t have her hating me just because I’m pathetic enough to lov-,” he stopped and took a deep breath. “I’ll take her in any way I can have her, alright? And if that means just being her friend then that’s just something I’m gonna have to deal with.”

“Hate you? Are you thick or something?”

Scorpius shook his head in dismissal, pushing himself out of his chair to start cleaning up the kitchen for Mrs. Potter who was out in the yard flying with Lily. “You don’t get it, Al.”

Al laughed at his friend's stupidity. “Scor, you have to know that she loves you too.”

This caused the blond to drop his plate into the sink unceremoniously. “What?”

“Yeah,” Al said with a shrug. “I thought that part was bloody obvious”

“Don’t mess with me like that, Al. It’s not fucking funny.”

“Why the hell would I mess with you about something that makes me so thoroughly uncomfortable. I’m trying to help you, you sod.”

“Did she tell you?”

“Well no, not directly,” Al said, soliciting a groan of frustration from Scorpius. “But you know how close she and Lily are. While Lily would never betray her trust, she’s been dropping hints that lead me to believe I’m correct.”

“What kind of hints?” Scorpius pressed.

“Well, she’s always asking when the two of you are coming over. And when you are here, she always manages to pull me away from you both. On top of that, she keeps pointing out how the two of you act around each other and what it could mean. It’s nice though, having a common goal with her. It gives us a reason to get along.”

“What, so my love life is now some kind of ‘Potter family mission’?”

“You should take it as a compliment, mate. We only set our minds on things that we deem important.”

Scorpius squeezed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. “Alright, fine. Maybe she feels the same way. I still don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do now.”

“That’s the easy part,” Al said with a grin. “You’ve already completed all of the pining from afar. Now, next week at the wedding, all you have to do is ask her to dance and tell her how you feel. If she runs away screaming then we know I was wrong.”

“That sounds like an absolutely horrible idea,” Scorpius deadpanned.

Al shrugged. “Fine, do whatever you want then. But if I hadn’t talked to you then you wouldn’t have any clue at all that she likes you back."

“All you’ve done is make me freak the fuck out!”

“Consider it a push in the right direction,” he shrugged, causing Scorpius to groan loudly, slapping a palm to his forehead.

“Look,” Al continued. “I think what we really need is a plan.”

Scorpius studied his friend carefully. If he was going to do it, put himself out there to Rose at long last, then he wanted to do it right. And who better to help him form a plan than the grandson of a marauder?

“Alright,” he decided solemnly. “What’s our first step?”

. . . 

It was finally upon them. The wedding. Scorpius and Albus had created the perfect plan and had gone through it a hundred times that day alone. He couldn’t mess this up. He wouldn’t dare. The ceremony had ended a few hours ago leading into a party of epic proportions. It was hosted by the Potter’s, of course. A ginormous tent had been pitched in their massive back yard and was filled to the brim with guests, laughter, and music.

Scorpius stuffed down the part of him that was nervous and remembered Al’s words. If Rose really did like him, then this would be fine. He knew how to dance, his grandmother had made sure of that the second he could walk, and he knew Rose. It was going to be fine. Nevertheless, he still downed the rest of his fancy french champagne in one gulp. He needed some kind of courage.

He walked over to where she was sitting with Lily and he stopped in his tracks, once again caught off guard by how beautiful she looked tonight. He’d choked on his spit rather loudly as she'd practically floated down the aisle preceding Vic along with Lily, Roxy, and Dom. Her dress was a cornflower blue that brought out the enticing shade of her eyes so wonderfully. It tied behind her neck, exposing the delicate, freckled skin across her shoulders. Her fiery red curls were pulled back masterfully with white jasmines pinned on either side of her head. She was stunning, as always; her head thrown back in laughter as he slowly approached her.

“Rose,” he called to her hoping that she hadn’t noticed the break in his voice.

“Oh, Scorpius!” She exclaimed, jumping to her feet in excitement. “Have you tried the champagne?”

“I have,” he said with a laugh. “And I see that you have too.”

With cheeks flushed and eyes wide, she nodded vigorously. “It’s just wonderful, isn’t it? I have to find Aunt Fleur and ask her to send some to my mum so you and I can steal it.”

He noticed that she hadn’t included Al in her scheme but cleared it from his mind. She’d had a few drinks and had probably just forgotten. It didn’t mean anything.

“That’s a great idea. Actually though, I was coming over to see if you’d like to dance with me,” he said lightly, hoping that he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. His own anxieties caused him to miss Lily elbowing Rose sharply, urging her between giggles to accept his offer.

“I’d love to,” she said warmly, grabbing his hand in hers.

They made their way over to the dance floor where a multitude of other people were talking and laughing, stopping though as the music changed from a jovial tune to something more serene. Scorpius looked around in time to see Al slipping the band a few galleons. He looked up and winked at Scorpius then made his way over to where Rose’s father was standing with fire whiskey in hand. Ron hadn’t yet noticed Rose and Scorpius and Al was going to make sure it stayed that way. Their plan was officially in motion.

“I love this song,” Rose said softly, pulling Scorpius’s eyes away from the bespeckled boy that was acting as his saving grace, not that he’d ever admit that. He hummed in agreement, placing his arms carefully around Rose’s waist. She clasped hers around his neck and laid her head on his chest. They fit together perfectly

“You look really lovely,” he murmured into her hair.

“You do too”

He pulled back slightly in confusion only to see her blushing a red that rivaled her hair.

“I just mean-”

“It's okay, Rosie,” he laughed. “Thank you.”

They continued to sway back and forth, her head on his chest, his hands locked firmly around her waist. It was the happiest he could remember being, the cinnamon scent of her hair clouding his thoughts. Neither of them noticed as the first song faded into the second and the second into the third. They whispered softly to one another: commentary on other guests, bets on who’d get the drunkest the quickest, anything that popped into their heads really. As the third song drew to a close, she pulled away from him slightly to look up at him properly.

“This has been really nice,” she practically whispered, the effects of the champagne having long faded away from her beautiful mind.

He nodded in agreement, realizing suddenly that this was the moment. He was going to do it. He leaned down slightly, bringing his hand from her waist to cup her cheek lightly. She closed her eyes, sighing contentedly. He leaned down further, his lips only inches away from hers. He was so wrapped up in her and all that she was and the way that her fingers were now threading themselves into the soft hairs at the nape of his neck that he hardly realized that they had company.

“Miss Weasley!” A voice croaked from behind them.

They jumped apart from each other like they’d been burned, both refusing to meet the other's gaze.

“Professor Slughorn,” she replied squeakily.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on your O in potions,” he said grandly followed by a hacking cough.

“Thank you, Professor,” she responded stiltedly. It was no secret that she hated the man. He forced her to live in her mother’s shadow, never letting a class go by without reminding her where she’d come from. It didn’t help that he consistently ridiculed her father who had never been the bookworm her mother was.

“It’s no surprise to me that such a lovely girl like you did so well. I mean, considering how well your mother did under my instruction, I expected nothing less!” He exclaimed happily, bringing a greyish hand to rest on her shoulder causing her to squirm uncomfortably.

She looked as if she couldn’t quite come up with a response, doing all she could to back away from his reach. Rose was usually so quick to snap back, but for some reason, for the first time in Scorpius’s memory, the fire in her had been extinguished. She was stuttering and he could barely make out something about how her mother had nothing to do with her personal successes. She was drowning, clearly flustered, and he could hardly stand it.

“I’d like you to reconsider my offer on joining the Slug Club,” Slughorn pressed. “I think you’ll find it extremely beneficial in your future end-”

“I’m afraid that that’s going to have to be enough for tonight, Professor,” Scorpius cut in pointedly.

Both Rose and Slughorn looked surprised at his rude interruption, but he didn’t care.

“Off the record, sir, I’ve had a few drinks and Rose here was just working on getting me inside. I’d hate to ruin Teddy and Vic’s big night by causing a scene, wouldn’t you?” He asked in a tone that much resembled his father's causing Slughorn to flinch.

“I’m sure Miss Weasley would much rather stay and chat with her favorite instructor. And you do seem rather fine, Mr. Malfoy. ”

“Well, I’m not,” Scorpius responded sharply. “Rose, I would hate to trouble you, but could you make sure I get inside alright? I’d hate to fall asleep in the garden.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Of course. We wouldn’t want the gnomes to get to you.”

“My thoughts exactly. Thank you, Professor. It’s been a pleasure,” Scorpius said with a tight-lipped smile.

Slughorn looked dazed but did nothing as Rose and Scorpius stumbled off towards the house, trying to contain their laughter.

“That was brilliant,” Rose gasped, clutching the Potter’s kitchen counter for support.

Scorpius shrugged casually, unable to wipe the grin off of his face. “He was being a dick. Dealing with that eight months out of the year is more than enough. Why was he invited anyways?”

Rose scoffed. “You know Teddy; far too nice for his own good. He invited pretty much everyone he’s ever met because he didn’t want to hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them off of the list.”

They both burst out in peals of laughter, unable to fathom the inner workings of Teddy’s mind. Their laughter subsided though, leaving them in the dark kitchen with nothing but themselves and the distant laughter from the party outside. This was it, Scorpius realized. A second chance. He could tell her how he felt once and for all.

“Rose-”

“Scorpius-”

This caused them to laugh all over again.

“You go first,” Scorpius offered. His heart was beating so fast and the words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to think otherwise.

“I was just going to say that I’m really lucky to have you as my best mate,” she said, squeezing his hand lightly.

His heart dropped, plummeting into the depths of his chest. Mate. ‘Best mate’. Of course, he’d been wrong. Oh, he was going to fucking kill Albus in the most gruesome way imaginable. He couldn’t breathe, his embarrassment practically choking him. He’d almost kissed her for Merlin’s sake! It took everything in him not to bolt. He wanted to run to Al’s room and scream into his pillow until his lungs hurt and never talk to anyone again. But she was looking at him expectantly and he was sure he looked like an idiot just standing there.

“Sorry,” he said after clearing his throat awkwardly.

“No, it’s okay. You know how sappy I get when I drink,” she laughed. If he’d been paying closer attention he would have realized that she hadn’t drunk anything in over an hour. He would have noticed how red she was, that her hand was clenched in an angry ball at her side and that there were tears beginning to gather in her pretty blue eyes. Maybe he would have noticed how much she seemed to hate herself in that moment.

“I’m lucky to have you too, Rosie,” he said, though it sounded more like he was choking.

She nodded quickly, looking anywhere but at him. “Alright then, I think I’m going to go up to bed.”

“Are you sure? It’s not even midnight. The party is sure to go on for hours,” he offered, sounding much more okay than he felt.

“It’s okay,” she said, already pushing past him. “If anyone asks, just tell them I got a headache,” she called without looking back.

He nodded mutely as he watched her climb the stairs hurriedly; running further and further away from him. Sinking into the nearest kitchen chair he thrust his head into his hands. The kitchen was dark, the only light coming from the twinkling orbs floating around the tent outside casting a sort of hazy glow around him.

He wasn’t going to cry. He wasn’t. That would just be stupid. Nothing had even happened! Hadn’t he just told Al that he would take her in any way he could have her? He still would, of course. But he’d let his stupid hopes rise so high. It had just felt so right dancing with her. She had fit against him perfectly and he thought she’d noticed too. But of course, he’d read into things. He’d probably imagined her hands in his hair, how she’d let out the smallest breath of air as he’d brought his lips so close to hers. He was such a fool. A fool that needed a drink.

No. He wasn’t going to result to drinking himself into a stupor. He was better than that. He was going to go up to Al’s room, gather his things, and floo home. He just couldn’t be near her, near anyone right now. His dad wouldn’t ask questions if he told him not to and his mum would press him but lay off eventually. And most importantly, he’d be far, far away from Rose, giving him a chance to clear his head. There was less than a month before school began and if he was going to be with her constantly then he needed to get a grip.

So it was settled. He bounded up the stairs and whisked all of his things into his bag in record time. He left Al a note on his desk explaining that he hadn’t felt well and that he’d gone home. He cast one longing look at Lily’s door where he knew Rose to be. He could do it. He could go in, tell her that he didn’t just want to be her best mate, and see what she had to say to that. But his heart was already so heavy and he didn’t have it in him to handle more rejection, and so without another glance, he made his way downstairs, approached the floo, and went home to his bed where he could sleep and try to forget the night had ever happened.

While Scorpius fell into a fitful sleep full of dreams that could never become reality, Rose stayed awake most of the night crying until her eyes could no longer produce tears. Best Mate. Why had she said that? She’d wanted to say that she loved him in a very non-mate way. But her stupid fucking mouth had opened up and she’d of course screwed the night up. She could have sworn that he was going to kiss her. Of course, she must have imagined it. Just like she’d imagined him getting her away from sleazy Slughorn was a sign that he cared about her and wanted to be with her alone.

Dancing with him had felt so right. His arms had settled above her hips so easily and pressed against his chest, engulfed in his arms had just been perfect. But then she’d screwed it all up and he didn’t even question it! She’d half expected him to follow her upstairs and kiss her stupid mouth senseless, but he hadn't. She’d heard him thunder up the stairs and had hoped desperately that he was coming to see her. But he didn’t do that either. God, she hated love. She wished more than anything that she could go back to seeing him as her slightly annoying best mate. But she couldn’t. Not when she knew him as she did.

And so they fell asleep in different beds, in different houses, in different towns, in different parts of the country. Both cursing themself into oblivion for not pressing harder, for not admitting how they really felt. But of course, they hadn’t because they were young and so in love that it made them both a bit stupid.


End file.
